Tray and removable ejection container assembly

ABSTRACT

A tray and removable ejection container assembly that includes a portable tray with a plurality of apertures each with a surrounding tray threading and a plurality of hand-held containers. The containers each have an enclosed sidewall defining a container cavity and a container length separating a distal end and proximal end thereof, a proximal opening defined by the proximal end, a container diameter spanning an insertion length greater than 50% of the container length, and an outer surface with a surrounding container threading. The assembly also includes a first position along a container-tray coupling path with the insertion length of each of the plurality of hand-held containers inserted, respectively, within one of the apertures defined by the tray and removably coupled to the tray, through an engagement with the surrounding container threading and the surrounding tray threading, and a second position with one of the containers uncoupled to the tray.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a tray with a plurality ofcontainers disposed therein, and, more particularly, a tray containingremovably couplable containers operably configured to eject substanceshoused within.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Whether prepping for meals for use during an upcoming week, making toomuch food for one meal, or in conjunction with making a frozen food,such as an ice pop, people often must store foods and liquids in arefrigerator or a freezer. To eliminate the environmental waste ofdisposable containers, reusable containers, usually made of a polymer orglass, became popular. These reusable containers, however, are oftenindividual storage containers that are bulky and do not easily fitwithin a refrigerator or freezer. As a result, these reusable containersoften take up too much space to be efficiently housed within arefrigerator or freezer, and cannot be easily transferred betweenlocations.

In an attempt to solve these problems, trays and other containers thathouse smaller, individual storage containers, were introduced. In thecurrently available trays, the individual storage containers sit withincavities in the larger tray. These trays, however, fail to provide asecure way to house the individual storage containers, since theindividual containers simply sit within the cavities in the tray. Saidanother way, these known assemblies are prone to generating spillage ofthe food or other contents disposed within the individual containers.

Whether housed within a tray or in an individual orientation, currentlyavailable storage containers are also limited by the materials by whichthey are manufactured. Specifically, storage containers of polymer orglass pose problems for a user attempting to retrieve a frozen food orliquid from within the containers because of the chemical and/ormechanical adherence of the food or liquid to the inner surfacesubstrate of the container. As such, the user must either wait for thefood or liquid to thaw in order to obtain the contents of thecontainers, or must struggle to manually remove the food or liquid fromthe containers using, for example, knives and/or other utensils ordevices, which may pose a safety risk. These practices aretime-consuming and inefficient, and can even be dangerous to the user.

There are also known container-tray assemblies, similar to thedisclosure in U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2016/0054049 (Harvie),wherein individual containers are disposed within a plurality ofapertures. These containers, however, are also not fastened or retainedto the tray and do not provide a user the ability to effectively andefficiently remove the contents therein after frozen. Rather, thesecontainers involve a two-shell container assembly, wherein the innershell is of a rigid material such as plastic and an outer shell, orsheath, is removably coupled thereto to minimize heat transfer to orfrom the user's hands.

Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art asdiscussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a tray with removable ejection containersoperably configured to provide users with easy and effective storagecapability, in addition to providing users efficient, safe, andeffective capability to remove (or “eject”) any food or liquidsubstances housed within.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, inaccordance with the invention, a tray and removable ejection containerassembly having a portable tray defining a plurality of apertures eachwith a surrounding tray threading and a plurality of hand-heldcontainers. Each of the container may have an enclosed sidewall defininga container cavity, a distal end, a proximal end opposing the distalend, and a container length separating the distal end and proximal end.The containers may also have a proximal opening defined by the proximalend, wherein the proximal opening is spatially coupled to the containercavity. Additionally, the container may have a container diameterspanning an insertion length greater than 50% of the container length,an outer surface with a surrounding container threading, a firstposition along a container-tray coupling path, and a second positionalong the container-tray coupling path. The first position may have theinsertion length of each of the plurality of hand-held containersinserted, respectively, within one of the plurality of apertures definedby the portable tray and removably coupled to the tray, through anengagement with the surrounding container threading and the surroundingtray threading and the second position may have at least one of theplurality of hand-held containers uncoupled to the portable tray.

In accordance with another feature, an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a container top operably configured to cover theproximal opening and encapsulate the container cavity.

In accordance with another feature, an embodiment of the presentinvention also includes a container insertion axis defined by thecontainer-tray coupling path and includes a tray-container placementplane defined by the distal ends of the plurality of hand-heldcontainers when in the first position along a container-tray couplingpath, wherein the container insertion axis is disposed at asubstantially perpendicular orientation with respect to thetray-container placement plane.

In accordance with yet another feature, an embodiment of the presentinvention also includes the plurality of hand-held containers eachhaving an outer shell defining an outer shell cavity, at least onechannel spatially coupled to the outer shell cavity, and the outersurface having the surrounding container threading, wherein the outershell is of a rigid material. The containers may also have an innershell disposed within the outer shell cavity, removably coupled to theouter shell, and defining the enclosed sidewall, wherein the inner shellis of a flexible material and accessible from an ambient environmentthrough the at least one channel.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the atleast one channel includes a first channel and a second channel, bothspatially coupled to the outer shell cavity, wherein the first andsecond channels of the outer shell are disposed in an opposingconfiguration with one another.

In accordance with yet another further feature of the present invention,the first and second channels of the outer shell each have an inwardchannel segment spanning inwardly from the outer surface of the outershell into the bottom inner surface of the outer shell and an upwardchannel segment spanning upwardly from the bottom inner surface of theouter shell toward the proximal end of each of the respective pluralityof hand-held containers.

In accordance with an additional feature of the present invention, theinward channel segment and the outer channel segment each include achannel width equal in length to one another, the channel width of alength of approximately 0.5-1.5 inches.

In accordance with an additional feature of the present invention, theplurality of hand-held containers each also include an outer shelldefining an outer shell cavity, at least one channel spatially coupledto the outer shell cavity and spanning from the distal end of each ofthe respective plurality of hand-held containers, and with the outersurface with the surrounding container threading, wherein the outershell is of a rigid material, and with the containers having an innershell disposed within the outer shell cavity, removably coupled to theouter shell, and defining the enclosed sidewall, wherein the inner shellis of a flexible and deformable material and is accessible from anambient environment through the at least one channel.

In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the innershell further includes a lower terminal end disposed in an adjacentconfiguration with a bottom inner surface of the outer shell.

In accordance with yet another further feature of the present invention,the at least one channel includes a first channel and a second channel,both spatially coupled to the outer shell cavity, wherein the first andsecond channels of the outer shell are disposed in an opposingconfiguration with one another.

In accordance with a further characteristic of the present invention,the inner shell includes a static state along an inner shell compressionpath with the inner shell contouring an inner surface of the outer shelland the inner shell defining the container cavity with a static volumeand a dynamic state along the inner shell compression path with innershell deformed and defining the container cavity with a dynamic volume,the dynamic volume less than the static volume.

Also in accordance with the present invention, a tray and removableejection container assembly is disclosed that includes a portable traydefining a plurality of apertures and a plurality of hand-heldcontainers, wherein each of the containers have an outer shell of arigid material and with an outer surface, an inner surface, a proximalend, a distal end, and a container diameter spanning an insertion lengthgreater than 50% of a container length separating the proximal anddistal ends of the outer shell, wherein the outer shell defines an outershell cavity and at least one channel spatially coupled to the outershell cavity and spanning from the distal end of the outer shell towardthe proximal end of the outer shell. The containers may also each havean inner shell coupled to the outer shell, wherein the inner shellincludes a bottom inner surface and an enclosed sidewall defining, withthe bottom inner surface of the inner shell, a container cavityspatially coupled to a proximal opening defined by a proximal end of theinner shell. The inner shell is also disposed within the outer shellcavity, is of a flexible and deformable material, and is accessible froman ambient environment through the at least one channel defined by theouter shell. The containers may also have a first position along acontainer-tray coupling path with the insertion length of each of theplurality of hand-held containers inserted, respectively, within one ofthe plurality of apertures defined by the portable tray and removablycoupled to the tray and a second position along the container-traycoupling path with at least one of the plurality of hand-held containersuncoupled to the portable tray.

In accordance with a further characteristic of the present invention,the inward channel segment terminates into an arcuate shape.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodiedas a tray with removable ejection containers and method of use, it is,nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown becausevarious modifications and structural changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and within the scope andrange of equivalents of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements ofexemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detailor will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of theinvention.

Some detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein;however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinaryskill in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtuallyany appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrasesused herein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide anunderstandable description of the invention. While the specificationconcludes with claims defining the features of the invention that areregarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be betterunderstood from a consideration of the following description inconjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numeralsare carried forward. The figures of the drawings are not drawn to scale.

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting. The terms “a” or “an,” as used herein, are defined as one ormore than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as twoor more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as atleast a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as usedherein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term“coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although notnecessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The term“providing” is defined herein in its broadest sense, e.g.,bringing/coming into physical existence, making available, and/orsupplying to someone or something, in whole or in multiple parts at onceor over a period of time.

As used herein, the terms “about” or “approximately” apply to allnumeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These termsgenerally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art wouldconsider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the samefunction or result). In many instances these terms may include numbersthat are rounded to the nearest significant figure. In this document,the term “longitudinal” should be understood to mean in a directioncorresponding to an elongated direction of the top surface of the pod tothe bottom surface of the pod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which together with the detailed description below are incorporatedin and form part of the specification, serve to further illustratevarious embodiments and explain various principles and advantages all inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective downward-looking view of a tray with removablycouplable containers in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational side view of the tray-container assembly ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the tray-container assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational front view of the tray-container assembly ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective downward-looking view of the tray-containerassembly of FIG. 1 with a container removed therefrom;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the tray-container assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the tray-container assembly of FIG.3 along section line 3-3 shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the tray-container assembly of FIG.3 along section line 3-3 shown in FIG. 3, with liquid contents disclosedwithin one of the containers; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a container, in a dynamic statealong a container compression path, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a novel and efficient tray with removablycouplable containers operably configured to provide users with easy andeffective storage capability. Additionally, the removable containersprovide users efficient, safe, and effective capability to eject anyfood or liquid substances housed within said containers after saidcontents are frozen.

Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present invention isshown in a perspective downward-looking view. FIG. 1 shows severaladvantageous features of the present invention, but, as will bedescribed below, the invention can be provided in several shapes, sizes,combinations of features and components, and varying numbers andfunctions of the components. Specifically, a tray-container assembly 100is shown having a portable tray 102 defining a plurality of apertures500 a-n (shown best in FIG. 5), wherein “a” is the numeral 1 and “n” isany numeral greater than 1. The assembly 100 also includes a pluralityof hand-held containers 104 a-n that may be shaped and sized to receivefood and/or liquid contents. The tray 102 and/or containers 104 a-n maybe portable and/or hand-held in that they may be also shaped and sizedfor a user to grasp, transport, and/or move with his or her hand.Beneficially, the containers 104 a-n are operably configured to couplewith the tray 102 so that they are retained, at least in the verticaldirection with respect to a ground surface, and inhibited from spillingthe contents therein. In one embodiment, the containers 104 a-n may becoupled, or engaged, to the tray 102 using a threading configurationbetween the containers 104 a-n and tray 102, as more fully describedbelow.

Additionally, the containers 104 a-n are also advantageously composed ofan outer shell 106 and inner shell 108 that may be removably coupled toone another using, for example, fasteners and/or friction-fitting. Inother embodiments, the outer and inner shells 106,108 are permanentlyjoined together using, for example, adhesives. The outer shell 106 maybe of a substantially rigid (also referred to herein as “rigid”)material, such as PVC having a hardness of approximately 55 shore D. Inother embodiments, the hardness may range from approximately 45-75 shoreD. The inner shell 108 may be of a flexible and/or deformable materialsuch as natural rubber or polyurethane, having a hardness ofapproximately 50 Shore A. In other embodiments, the hardness of theinner shell 108 may range from approximately 30-70 Shore A. As those ofskill in the art will appreciate, however, other harnesses andmaterials, can be used utilized consistent with the scope and intent ofthe present invention described herein. Similar to the outer shell 106,the tray 102 may also be of a substantially rigid material.

With references now to FIGS. 2-4, the tray 102 may have a length 300 ofapproximately 10-14 inches and a width 400 of approximately 4-8 inches.The thickness of the tray 102 may be approximately 1-3 inches, while theoverall height 200 of the tray-container assembly 100 will beprincipally dictated by the height of the containers 104 a-n, but mayrange from approximately 5-7 inches. Each individual container 104 a-nmay have various shapes and sizes. In one embodiment, however, thecontainers 104 a-n are generally cylindrical and have a diameter ofapproximately 2-3 inches. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4-5, thecontainer diameter 402 may span an insertion length, e.g., length 202,which is typically at least 50% of the overall container length 200. Thediameter 402 is of a length such the containers 104 a-n are operable tobe inserted within the apertures 500 a-n defined by the tray 102. Saidanother way, the containers 104 a-n are removably couplable to the tray102 such that, in one embodiment, they have a first position along acontainer-tray coupling path (e.g., involving movement of the containers104 a-n in a vertical direction within one or more apertures 500 a-n andtwisting of the containers 104 a-n), wherein the insertion length 202 ofeach of the plurality of hand-held containers 104 is inserted,respectively, within one of the plurality of apertures 500 a-n definedby the portable tray 102. The diameter 502 of the apertures 500 a-n maybe sized and shaped to permit insertion of the one or more containers104 a-n. For example, if a container has a height of 6 inches, thecontainer would be sized and shaped such that at least 3 inches of thecontainer, at a diameter of 2 inches, could be inserted within the trayaperture 500 a-n, having a diameter of 3 inches. This provides stabilityof the assembly 100, as the center of mass is more centralized. As thoseof skill in the art will appreciate, other dimensions can be usedutilized consistent with the scope and intent of the present inventiondescribed herein. This first position can be seen exemplified by five ofthe containers 104 a-n depicted in FIG. 5. The container-tray couplingpath also includes a second position (again exemplified in FIG. 5) withat least one of the plurality of hand-held containers 104 a-n uncoupledto the portable tray 102.

Another feature of the present invention includes the distal ends 204a-n of the plurality of containers 104 a-n, when in the first position,being configured with respect to the tray 102, to be co-planar (as bestseen in FIG. 2) with respect to one another. As such, the assembly 100,and the contents therein, can stay relatively flat when placed on aground surface, e.g., a freezer tray.

With reference to FIGS. 5-7, to enable a secure attachment or engagementof the containers 104 a-n to the tray 102, the outer surface 600 of thecontainers 104 a-n include a surrounding tray threading 602 and the andthe tray 102 includes a surrounding tray threading 504 shaped and sizedto engage with the surrounding tray threading 504. The amount andlocation of threading disposed on the respective tray 102 and outershell 104 should be determined based on the position where the tray 102and the distal ends 204 a-n of the containers 104 a-n are desired to belocated. Moreover, although the threading is depicted facing outwardlyon the outer surface 600 of the containers 104 a-n and facing inwardlyon the inner surface of the tray 102, the tray 102 may also includeoutwardly facing threads surrounding the apertures 500 a-n and the outersurface of the containers 104 a-n may include inwardly facing threadssurrounding the containers 104 a-n. Additionally, the threading may bediscontinuous, while still being within the scope of the term“surrounding.” Other coupling methods and configurations, however, maybe employed that retain the containers 104 a-n and tray 102 together,e.g., a tongue-and-grove configuration. Additionally, the outer shell106 may include a flange 702, disposed above the threading 602, designedto prohibit insertion of the containers 104 a-n passed a pre-definedlocation. Therefore, unlike known tray-container assemblies, thecontainers 104 a-n are operably configured to be securely retained tothe tray 102, thereby reducing the likelihood of spillage.

To further decrease the likelihood of spillage, the assembly 100 mayalso include a container top 604 operably configured to cover theproximal opening 606 and encapsulate the container cavity 700. The top604 may include a transparent or translucent first cover member 608,which may include a portion operable configured to be inserted within(or surround) the proximal opening 606. The first cover member 608 maybe of a polymeric material and may also beneficially include a portiondesignated for a user to inscribe indicia, typically associated withidentifying the contents of the container. The top 604 may also includea second cover member 610 that may be operably configured to engage witha second threaded portion 612 of the outer shell 106. The second covermember 610 may also be of a polymeric material. The first and secondcover members 608, 610 are beneficially separable so that a user mayinterchange new first cover members in case of repeated use of thecontainers 104 a-n (and inscribing for each use) and, like the inner andouter shells 106, 108, to facilitate in a more effective cleaningprocess. The containers 104 a-n can also be seen having etchings, lines,or other indicia to demarcate specific volumes or fill-lines associatedwith the containers 104 a-n. The container cavity 700 may be designed toretain or house a volume ranging from 6 fl. oz. to 8 fl. oz., or othervolumes outside of said range, but consistent with the scope and intentof the present invention.

Still referring to FIGS. 5-7, the outer shell 106 can be seen having anouter shell cavity 614 and defining at least one channel 616 spatiallycoupled to the outer shell cavity 614. Said another way, the channel 616permits a user to access, from an ambient environment (i.e., outside ofthe assembly 100), to the outer shell cavity 614 so that the user canapply a compression force to the inner shell 108 disposed within theouter shell cavity 614. Beneficially, the inner shell 108 may beremovably coupled to the outer shell 106 using, for example, acompression fitting or fasteners, e.g., one or more container couplingmembers 618 and/or the top 604. Specifically, in one embodiment, the oneor more container coupling members 618 may be configured to be removablyengaged from the inner shell 108 and then inserted through the outershell 106 through one or more apertures 620, where the one or morecontainer coupling members 618 may then be coupled back to the innershell 108. In other embodiments, the outer shell 106 may include one ormore recesses or channels for the one or more container coupling members618 to be engaged with, thereby obviating the need to remove the one ormore container coupling members 618 from the inner shell 108. The outershell 106 may also include one or more recesses 622 shaped to receivethe one or more container coupling members 618, thereby resistingvertical movement of the inner shell 108 when placed within the outershell cavity 614.

With reference now to FIGS. 6-9, the inner shell 108 of the containers104 a-n can be seen having an enclosed sidewall 900 and a bottom innersurface 902 that, when joined with the top 604, encapsulate thecontainer cavity 700, thereby effectively housing the contents storedtherein. The outer shell 106 can be seen having a bottom inner surface904 and an enclosed sidewall 906 along portions of the length of theouter shell 106. The at least one channel 616, however, may consist oftwo channels, or a first channel 616 and a second channel 204 (shownbest in FIG. 2), designed to further facilitate in applying acompression force on the inner shell 108. Said another way, the firstand second channels 616, 204 enable the user to use a single hand toapply an effective amount of force to flex or deform the inner shell108, thereby “ejecting” the contents (frozen or otherwise) disposedwithin the container 104 a-n. As such, the first and second channels616, 204 are spatially coupled to the outer shell cavity 614 and may bedisposed in an opposing configuration with one another, i.e., onopposite sides of the container.

In additional embodiments, the first and second channels 616, 204 of theouter shell 106 may each have an inward channel segment 624 spanninginwardly from the outer surface 600 of the outer shell 106 into thebottom inner surface 906 of the outer shell 106 and an upward channelsegment 626 spanning upwardly from the bottom inner surface 906 of theouter shell 106 toward the proximal end 908 of each of the respectiveplurality of hand-held containers 104 a-n. The inward channel segment624 and the outer channel segment 626 may beneficially terminate in anarcuate surface or shape and may also each include a channel width 628equal in length to one another. In one embodiment, the channel width 628is of a length of approximately 0.5-1.5 inches to provide clearance foruser's digits, e.g., a user's thumb and index finger. Therefore, theabove features facilitate in ejecting the contents of the one or morecontainers 104 a-n when applying a compression force on the inner shell108. Preferably, the entire portion of the inner shell 108 exposed tothe channel 616 is deformable and/or flexible. In some embodiments,however, only a portion of the inner shell 108 exposed to the channel616 is deformable and/or flexible.

To use the tray-container assembly, the user may begin by providing atray-container assembly, as described herein, and removing the top 604associated with one or more of the containers 104 a-n and insert a fluid800 or other contents within the container cavity 700 (as best shown inFIG. 8). The user may then close the top 604 thereby encapsulating thefluid 800 within the cavity 700 or leave the top off the one or morecontainers 104 a-n. Then, the user may then insert and fasten the one ormore containers 104 a-n within the one or more respective apertures 500a-n on the tray 102 using, for example, the treaded engagementconfiguration of the containers 104 a-n and tray 102. Specifically, inone embodiment, a container may be inserted into the tray via acontainer insertion axis 506 (shown best in FIG. 5), also referred to asa container-tray coupling path. After inserted within the tray 102, orwhen in a first position along the container-tray coupling path, thedistal ends 204 a-n of the plurality of hand-held containers 104 a-n maydefine a tray-container placement plane, wherein the container insertionaxis 506 disposed at a substantially perpendicular orientation withrespect to the tray-container placement plane (as best seen in FIG. 2)for added stability.

Thereafter, the user may freeze the contents 800 of the containers 104a-n (as best shown in FIG. 9). Typically, the inner shell 108 is shapedand sized such that it contours the inner surface 904 of the outer shell106 and is positioned within the cavity 614 such that a lower terminalend 802 of the inner shell 108 is disposed in an adjacent configurationwith a bottom inner surface 906 of the outer shell 106. Thisconfiguration can be said to be a static state along an inner shellcompression path, as no compression forces from the user are subjectedon the inner shell 108. Said differently, the static state of the innershell 108 along the inner shell compression path may be when the innershell 108 contour the inner surface 904 of the outer shell 106. When inthe static state, the inner shell 108 may define a container cavity 700with a static volume, e.g., 6 fl oz.

Whether frozen or otherwise, the user may desire the contents 800 withinthe containers 104 a-n to be removed, or “ejected.” To accomplish this,the user may apply a compression force on one or more sides of the innershell 108, through the one or more channels 616 defined by the rigidouter shell 106. This process can be described as placing the innershell 108 in a dynamic state along the inner shell compression path.Said differently, when placed in the dynamic state, the inner shell 108may be deformed and the container cavity has a dynamic volume, e.g., 5fl oz, wherein the dynamic volume less than the static volume. Saiddifferently, the user's application of compression force on the flexibleand/or deformable inner shell 108 accessible to the user through the oneor more channels formed on the outer shell 106, causes the contents 800within the container to be ejected upwardly toward the proximal aperture606. To inhibit the contents 800 within cavity 700 from sticking oradhering to the inner surface 900 of the inner shell 108, the innersurface 900 may be of a material having a low coefficient of frictionand/or may have a coating applied thereon.

As such, above-described tray-container assembly provides users theunique ability to not only retain a plurality of containers to a trayfor transport, storage, or freezing, but also to efficiently, safely,and effectively eject any food or liquid substances housed within saidcontainers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tray and removable ejection container assemblycomprising: a portable tray defining a plurality of apertures each witha surrounding tray threading; and a plurality of hand-held containers,each with: an enclosed sidewall defining a container cavity, a distalend, a proximal end opposing the distal end, and a container lengthseparating the distal end and proximal end; a proximal opening definedby the proximal end, the proximal opening spatially coupled to thecontainer cavity; a container diameter spanning an insertion lengthgreater than 50% of the container length; an outer surface with asurrounding container threading; a first position along a container-traycoupling path with the insertion length of each of the plurality ofhand-held containers inserted, respectively, within one of the pluralityof apertures defined by the portable tray and removably coupled to thetray, through an engagement with the surrounding container threading andthe surrounding tray threading; and a second position along thecontainer-tray coupling path with at least one of the plurality ofhand-held containers uncoupled to the portable tray.
 2. The tray andremovable ejection container assembly according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a container top operably configured to cover the proximalopening and encapsulate the container cavity.
 3. The tray and removableejection container assembly according to claim 1, further comprising: acontainer insertion axis defined by the container-tray coupling path;and a tray-container placement plane defined by the distal ends of theplurality of hand-held containers when in the first position along acontainer-tray coupling path, the container insertion axis disposed at asubstantially perpendicular orientation with respect to thetray-container placement plane.
 4. The tray and removable ejectioncontainer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the plurality ofhand-held containers each further comprise: an outer shell defining: anouter shell cavity; at least one channel spatially coupled to the outershell cavity; and the outer surface with the surrounding containerthreading; wherein the outer shell is of a rigid material; and an innershell disposed within the outer shell cavity, removably coupled to theouter shell, and defining the enclosed sidewall, wherein the inner shellis of a flexible material and accessible from an ambient environmentthrough the at least one channel.
 5. The tray and removable ejectioncontainer assembly according to claim 4, wherein: the at least onechannel includes a first channel and a second channel, both spatiallycoupled to the outer shell cavity, wherein the first and second channelsof the outer shell are disposed in an opposing configuration with oneanother.
 6. The tray and removable ejection container assembly accordingto claim 5, wherein: the first and second channels of the outer shelleach having an inward channel segment spanning inwardly from the outersurface of the outer shell into the bottom inner surface of the outershell and an upward channel segment spanning upwardly from the bottominner surface of the outer shell toward the proximal end of each of therespective plurality of hand-held containers.
 7. The tray and removableejection container assembly according to claim 6, wherein: the inwardchannel segment and the outer channel segment each include a channelwidth equal in length to one another, the channel width of a length ofapproximately 0.5-1.5 inches.
 8. The tray and removable ejectioncontainer assembly according to claim 1, wherein the plurality ofhand-held containers each further comprise: an outer shell defining: anouter shell cavity; at least one channel spatially coupled to the outershell cavity and spanning from the distal end of each of the respectiveplurality of hand-held containers; and the outer surface with thesurrounding container threading; wherein the outer shell is of a rigidmaterial; and an inner shell disposed within the outer shell cavity,removably coupled to the outer shell, and defining the enclosedsidewall, wherein the inner shell is of a flexible and deformablematerial and is accessible from an ambient environment through the atleast one channel.
 9. The tray and removable ejection container assemblyaccording to claim 8, wherein the inner shell further comprises: a lowerterminal end disposed in an adjacent configuration with a bottom innersurface of the outer shell.
 10. The tray and removable ejectioncontainer assembly according to claim 8, wherein: the at least onechannel includes a first channel and a second channel, both spatiallycoupled to the outer shell cavity, wherein the first and second channelsof the outer shell are disposed in an opposing configuration with oneanother.
 11. The tray and removable ejection container assemblyaccording to claim 8, wherein the inner shell further comprises: astatic state along an inner shell compression path with the inner shellcontouring an inner surface of the outer shell and the inner shelldefining the container cavity with a static volume; and a dynamic statealong the inner shell compression path with inner shell deformed anddefining the container cavity with a dynamic volume, the dynamic volumeless than the static volume.
 12. A tray and removable ejection containerassembly comprising: a portable tray defining a plurality of apertures;and a plurality of hand-held containers, each with: an outer shell of arigid material and with an outer surface, an inner surface, a proximalend, a distal end, and a container diameter spanning an insertion lengthgreater than 50% of a container length separating the proximal anddistal ends of the outer shell, the outer shell defining: an outer shellcavity; and at least one channel spatially coupled to the outer shellcavity and spanning from the distal end of the outer shell toward theproximal end of the outer shell; and an inner shell coupled to the outershell, the inner shell: with a bottom inner surface and an enclosedsidewall defining, with the bottom inner surface of the inner shell, acontainer cavity spatially coupled to a proximal opening defined by aproximal end of the inner shell; disposed within the outer shell cavity;of a flexible and deformable material; and accessible from an ambientenvironment through the at least one channel defined by the outer shell;a first position along a container-tray coupling path with the insertionlength of each of the plurality of hand-held containers inserted,respectively, within one of the plurality of apertures defined by theportable tray and removably coupled to the tray; and a second positionalong the container-tray coupling path with at least one of theplurality of hand-held containers uncoupled to the portable tray. 13.The tray and removable ejection container assembly according to claim12, further comprising: a surrounding container threading disposed onthe outer surface of the outer shell; a surrounding tray threadingdisposed on the portable tray and surrounding the plurality ofapertures, wherein the first position along the container-tray couplingpath includes each of the plurality of hand-held containers removablycoupled, through an engagement with the surrounding container threadingand the surrounding tray threading, to the tray.
 14. The tray andremovable ejection container assembly according to claim 12, wherein:the at least one channel includes a first channel and a second channel,both spatially coupled to the outer shell cavity, wherein the first andsecond channels of the outer shell are disposed in an opposingconfiguration with one another.
 15. The tray and removable ejectioncontainer assembly according to claim 14, wherein: the first and secondchannels of the outer shell each having an inward channel segmentspanning inwardly from the outer surface of the outer shell into abottom inner surface of the outer shell and an upward channel segmentspanning upwardly from the bottom inner surface of the outer shelltoward the proximal end of the outer shell.
 16. The tray and removableejection container assembly according to claim 15, wherein: the inwardchannel segment terminates into an arcuate shape.
 17. The tray andremovable ejection container assembly according to claim 12, wherein theinner shell further comprises: a static state along an inner shellcompression path with the inner shell contouring the inner surface ofthe outer shell and the inner shell defining the container cavity with astatic volume; and a dynamic state along the inner shell compressionpath with inner shell deformed and defining the container cavity with adynamic volume, the dynamic volume less than the static volume.